An Impasse Whilst Wicker Furniture Shopping + A Short Quiz

/ Ally Bean

THE STORY:

Zen-Den and I have been researching online and shopping around town for wicker furniture to replace the sad stuff that’s in our screened-in porch now.

Currently, our furniture is a country look with a Band-aid beige wicker frame, tufted parchment-colored cushions + old floral pillows.

It’s ugly.  It’s worn out.  And its days are numbered.

So now in an effort to upgrade the furniture and to continue transforming this house into a home, we’re faced with yet another expensive decorating decision.

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Screen Shot 2015-03-09 at 1.00.03 PM

Example of traditional country-style wicker furniture that we now have and may buy again. [source]

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THE CONVERSATIONS, MORE OR LESS:

HIS IDEA:  “This may sound boring, but we could buy the exact same pieces of furniture again, only this time in dark brown wicker with off-white cushions.”

MY [1st] IDEA:  “We could buy the same country-style furniture, but in different pieces, in a warm medium brownish wicker with subtly patterned cushions– coordinating floral and stripes, perhaps.”

HIS IDEA: “This may sound boring, but we could buy the exact same pieces of furniture again, only this time in dark brown wicker with off-white cushions.”

MY [2nd] IDEA:  “We could replace the existing furniture with the same pieces, only this time get a light gray wicker frame with medium to dark-toned blue cushions that wouldn’t show the dirt.”

HIS IDEA:  “This may sound boring, but we could buy the exact same pieces of furniture again, only this time in dark brown wicker with off-white cushions.”

MY [3rd] IDEA:  “We could go with a completely different frame, one that is more modern & linear.  Then we could get a nut-brown wicker with ecru + tan striped cushions.  Plus two new matching end tables in the same wicker with glass on top.”

HIS IDEA:  “This may sound boring, but we could buy the exact same pieces of furniture again, only this time in dark brown wicker with off-white cushions.”

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Screen Shot 2015-03-09 at 1.00.43 PM

Example of more up-to-date, linear wicker furniture that we might buy this time. [source]

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THE QUIZ:

  1. What do you think that Zen-Den wants the new furniture to look like?
  2. Which of the two people involved in this decision has the most creative ideas?
  3. If you were to place money on it, which person do you believe will make the final decision about the furniture that we buy?

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[Hello FTC!  Please note that there’s no monetary &/or other compensation involved regarding our preference for this brand of furniture.  Considering how pricey this furniture is, would that it were so, but that ain’t gonna happen.  Hoping that all is well with you, FTC.  Long time no see.]  

18 thoughts on “An Impasse Whilst Wicker Furniture Shopping + A Short Quiz”

  2. I feel quite certain that you, Ally Bean, will make the final decision. And, I think you’ll go with fun. And, I think Zen Den will decide you were right, after all.

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  3. Zen-Den agrees with Joan. I will drive, pay, carry and arrange with pride and happiness. I will be happy buying the same color underwear and socks. And pants. And shirts.

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    • Zen-Den, what a remarkably sound & reasonably way of looking at this impasse. By all means, never deviate from buying the same clothes over & over & over again. Of that I approve! 😉

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  4. I will plead the 5th as to who I am siding with here. Most of my furniture was secondhand stuff I got for free by taking it off someone else’s hands when I moved in here. Most, if not all of it will likely still be here and in use when they come to claim my body or move me into the old folks home, whenever that time may come…

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    • evilsquirrel13, we started out with lots of used furniture, but now that I’m a bona fide grown-up living the swanky suburban life I want things to coordinate and look pulled together… which is to say that dark brown wicker/off-white cushions ain’t going to cut it.

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  5. I like your suggestions. But I feel like he’s going to wear you down by being repetitive. He’s sticking to his guns. 🙂

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    • Kourtney, he is nothing if not consistent! While I like his idea for what it is [basic], I feel that we can get a little bit wilder this time round. I’m sure that we’ll come to an understanding soon.

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  6. HAHA-I won’t take sides, but off-white would show lots of dirt. The chairs look marvelously comfortable. I lean toward #2 but what is the color of your house. Are you coordinating to anything?

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    • Margaret, comfort is the first rule with these chairs so both styles will work. [Have sat in them both.] The screened-in porch needs to work with the dining room & living room plus go with the brick wall out there. It’s a gorgeous space, looking straight into the trees, which adds another color variable to the equation. What we buy will have to blend every which way but up!

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  7. You two gave me my laugh for the day. Thanks! Zen Den is the best. He will bring home and accept whatever you decide. And he will love it—-because he loves you! And I think he realizes that the woman is always right:)

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    • Beth, you understand him! Poor guy, trying to be helpful, but sounding like a robot programmed to annoy me. With so many possibilities available to us, I think that just a little change would be lovely. And soon, he will think the same thing. 😉

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  8. Some people fear change. Some people don’t want to make a decision and then have responsibility for possibly a bad outcome. Some people don’t care all that much. And some people realize that he/she is merely an Idea Bouncing Board. That’s just Some People.

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    • nance, you said it! You’d think that he’d have picked up on the Idea Bouncing Board concept by now, but on this particular purchase he’s not tuned-in. As for what we’ll get, who knows? Time and future negotiations will tell.

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